Columns and teeth (Figure 1) are characteristics of stylolites. The caps of the columns commonly contain thick seams of residue, while the sides of the columns were slickensided, indicating pressure solution across the caps and slip parallel to the column axis (Stockdale, 1922).

Figure 1. Images of a large horizontal stylolite in a Mississippian packstone to grainstone with a large area of coarse clear calcite (C). The lesser amount of insoluble residue where the stylolite penetrates the clear calcite (arrow) may be due to the scarcity of non-carbonate material in calcite. From web site of L. Bruce Railsback, http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback.

Stockdale (1922) also suggested that the height or amplitude of the tooth is proportional to the amount of material dissolved, although Guzetta (1984) disputed this assertion. Safaricz and Davison (2005) showed that as pressure solution develops, the merging of two stylolites tends to reduce, if not completely remove, the amplitude of the stylolite tooth. Please see the section 'Amplitude of Stylolites' for more discussion.